Home / Loan programs / USDA
Retail & agencyUSDA’s guaranteed rural purchase program is a zero-down mortgage for eligible owner-occupants — but only if the property maps as eligible and household income is within USDA’s cap for that area.
USDA Rural Development’s Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program is a government-backed purchase (and limited refinance) program aimed at modest-income buyers in eligible rural and some suburban locations. Like FHA and VA, USDA typically guarantees a loan made by a lender; it is not a “USDA bank.”
Zero down payment is the headline. The two screens that stop files are the property map and the household income limit. Both are USDA’s, both change, and both must be checked on official tools — not guessed from a town name.
Property map: USDA eligibility site. Program overview: USDA guaranteed loan program.
USDA is for buyers who will occupy the home as a primary residence, whose household income (including adult household members USDA requires you to count) is within the area limit, and whose property is in an eligible location. It is not an investment product and not a vacation-home product.
Eligibility is address-specific. Parts of a county can be eligible while a subdivision two miles away is not. Do not write a contract around USDA until the official map is checked for that address. Our county pages explicitly refuse to label a whole county “USDA eligible.”
USDA uses household income for eligibility, which is a different question from the qualifying income used to repay the loan. Limits vary by area and household size. Publishing a number here would go stale and could mislead you into writing an offer you cannot finance. Use USDA’s official income tools and a lender who runs the file.
USDA competes with FHA when you want little money down and the property maps eligible. FHA does not care about the rural map and uses a different insurance structure. Conventional may still win if you have a score and a down payment and want cancellable PMI. We should compare the monthly payment with guarantee fee vs MIP vs PMI — using current figures, not this page.
Both states have eligible pockets, including suburban-feeling addresses that still map as rural for USDA. New Jersey’s eligible geography is thinner than Pennsylvania’s in many metros. Check the map. PHFA Keystone Flex can include RD (USDA) as a first-mortgage type when PHFA allows it — confirm on phfa.org.
Figures that change each year live at the source, not on this page.
The guaranteed purchase program is designed for 100% financing when property, income, and credit eligibility fit. Guarantee fees still affect the loan amount and the payment. Ask for a current loan estimate.
Use USDA’s official map at eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov. Do not rely on a listing remark that says “USDA eligible.”
It depends on the area and household size, and USDA updates it. We will not invent a cap here. USDA’s tools and a full application are the source.
No. This program is for a primary residence.
PHFA has described Keystone Flex as available as conventional, FHA, VA, or RD. That only helps if you also meet PHFA’s own rules. Confirm on PHFA’s Keystone Flex page.
Written by Steve Umansky, Sr. Branch Manager, NMLS #61764. Last reviewed 2026-09-15. Program parameters are subject to change and to the guidelines in effect at application. Not a commitment to lend.
Three quick steps, no Social Security number. A licensed officer confirms whether this program or another one fits your file.
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